In Search Of 300,000 Votes

Todd Pittenger - June 21, 2014 11:30 am

Keen Umbehr spend the day in Salina on Saturday.

Keen Umbehr is a man on a mission. In an effort to become the next governor of Kansas, he is seeking 300,000 votes. The Libertarian candidate told KSAL News that using election results from 2010, “300,000 votes puts me in the governor’s office”.

Umbehr spent the day in the Salina area Saturday as part of a “Liberty Run” event. He made stops in Salina, Hedville, Assaria, and Gypsum.

Umbehr said that the big issue in Kansas is the tax issue. He says the governor’s current tax plan allows 191,000 business owners to pay zero income tax while at the same time, forcing 1.3 million W-2 wage earners to pay all of the state’s income tax. He says “everybody is willing to pay some taxes but when one group pays none, and I’m a part of that group, and all of the wage earners pay it all, it’s unfair, obscene, discriminatory, it denies equal protection of the law, and it’s got to be changed”.

Other issues Umbehr is passionate about include education and health care.

Umbehr says that he does not favor common core education standards. He believes that Kansas should develop its own standards. And he believes that citizens should be able to use their state per-pupil money to choose which school to attend.

Umbehr has a unique health care plan. He does not favor the Affordable Health Care Act. Instead he is using his son, and running mate for lieutenant governor Josh Umbehr as an example. Josh is a family practice physician in Wichita. At his clinic, patients pay a flat monthly fee of $50 for most adults, and $10 for children. He says “there is no co-pay and no deductibles, all normal care is covered by the monthly fee”. They are currently working on putting a plan together to cover catastrophic events that happen. The clinic also houses a pharmacy. When a patient leaves, they leave with their medicine in hand, paying a fee of just five percent over wholesale. He says there is no pharmacy in the country that can beat that deal.

Umbehr says that he believes that Kansas marijuana laws should be examined. While he doesn’t support Colorado’s model of widespread legalization, he does support letting Kansas voters decide on legalizing marijuana for medical use.

Umbehr is depending on a grass-roots effort to spread the word about his ideas. While in the Salina area he made stops to meet with supporters at Salina Powersports, Rolling Hills Zoo, Assaria Oil and Hardware, the Exit 14 Cafe, and the Speakeasy Bar and Grill. He is planning to visit all 105 counties in Kansas.